Trayvon Martin’s Parents Break Silence on Morning Shows

Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin made the morning-show rounds today, speaking out for the first time since George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing their unarmed son, Trayvon Martin.

The two were somber and resigned in their appearances on “CBS This Morning,” “Good Morning America” and “Today,” repeatedly expressing their shock at the verdict and indicating that they may be moving forward with a civil suit.

Martin spoke movingly about his son on CBS this morning, opening the interview by saying, “I want America to know that Trayvon was a fun-loving child. He was our child. We miss him dearly. Just to have your child’s life taken away from you like that, it hurts. And it’s a process that will take a long time to start to recovery from.”

Fulton added that she was “stunned” when she heard Zimmerman was not found guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter: “I [thought] that they would see that this was a teenager just trying to get home. This was no burglar. This was somebody’s son that was trying to get home.”

Both agreed that race played a huge factor in the killing. “I think it was obvious that it was a black person, a black young person, that they were looking for,” Fulton told co-host Charlie Rose. “But Trayvon was simply not that person.

Race was more of a focus in Martin and Fulton’s conversation with Matt Lauer on Today. Martin said that if his son had been white, “this would have never happened — so obviously, race played some type of role.”

When co-host Matt Lauer asked if he felt that the legal system had failed her son, Fulton answered yes, “to a certain degree,” adding, “I just didn’t understand. How can you let the killer of an unarmed child go free?”

Trayvon’s parents also discussed the aftermath of the verdict, saying that they hoped all protests would be peaceful — and telling Lauer that while they may someday be able to forgive Zimmerman, “forgiveness is like a healing process. Forgiving takes time.